Clients First: The Two Word Miracle

Emotions

Over the years we have served thousands of clients in a very emotional environment. Residential resale is our chosen specialty, and it is fraught with emotions. People’s homes are their havens. For many, their homes define who they are. Jean Auel’s classic novel, The Clan of the Cave Bear, opens with a family of cave dwellers looking for a new home. The emotion Auel conveys regarding this family’s feelings thousands of years ago is no different than today. They are displaced and fearful. They are elated when they find a new cave.

It comes as no surprise that we have dealt with many clients who at one point or another in the process of selling a home and finding a new one simply go crazy. They fall apart early or they fall apart late. Some are wrecks from day one until they’ve successfully moved, and sometimes their anguish persists. Were we to fire every client who displayed symptoms of distress, we would probably be struggling to operate a used bookstore today and eating macaroni and cheese for dinner.

I sometimes think the entire real estate support industry is made up of good people who tried residential resale first and could not take the emotional toll. Many lenders, commercial agents, model-home salespeople, and title officers have real estate licenses. They will say something like, “Oh, I tried residential sales, but it wasn’t for me.” Now, these are able people. They are highly successful in their current fields. They just didn’t want to be exposed to people’s ...